04 November, 2008

George was kind enough to forward some photos of his brand new Velo Orange Rando bike. This is really a nice build. And very cool lights!

He writes:

I’m very happy with how it turned out and took it out for a little spin to Paris last Saturday. That’s Paris, TX, of course for a distance of 300 Km. The bike rode like a dream. Best ride on chip seal pavement I’ve ever had. Corners beautifully and good stable ride with the front bag installed. Much less soreness than my previous long distance bike – and that’s with the same Grand Bois tires.

The electrical contacts on a Schmidt hub are on the right side of the hub - it makes wire routing easier to put a light on the right or centered (fork crown). That said, it may make more sense to put it on the left in terms of riding in traffic in the US.

The lights are modified LED flashlights available from dealextreme.com. Basically, I take the stock light, remove the current regulator board form the head of the light and the on/off switch from the rear. I installed a bridge rectifier (available from Radio Shack or any electronics supplier) inside the right hand light. The LEDs are then wired to the output of the rectifier.

The tail light is also connected to the generator hub. It's wired in parallel to the input side of the rectifier.

All connections are made by running the wires through a small hole punched through the rubber switch button at the back of the lights. I do not use an on/off switch as i prefer to run the lights day and night.

There is a good reason to mount dual lights on both sides of the front rack. Lights such as these have wide beamwidths and create shadows from the front wheel. This tends to be a bit disconcerting. A light on each side helps fill in the shadows. they're still visible, but not as dark and there are two symmetric shadows, which is more pleasing to see.

Looks great. What do you think of the down tube shifters combined with the high stem? I tried it when I built up my current bike, having had a high stem with bar-end shifters on my previous bike, but I found that I had to reach too far; I had to roll my right shoulder down to reach the shifter, so I lowered the bars until I could reach the shifters without twisting my torso. The result: no problem; bar height is still comfortable, and it looks better, too!

I also have ultegra derailers, but I took some semichrome and buffed off the writing. Looks better.

The lights are wired in series. It's a misnomer that the hub generate 6V. The hub actually generates 0.5A of current. The resulting voltage is determined by the characteristics of the load. A single 3W incandescent bulb would result in 6V (3W x 0.5A).

Current high power LEDs will handle 1A, or more of current. Since the generator is limited to 0.5A, there is no danger in wiring the lights to the hub in series. The lights do need to be modified to remove the current regulator board.

As far as the downtube shifters go, the only problem I have is not being able to find the bar end shifters. Old habits take time to change. I am still evaluating the optimum stem height.

For a long time I wondered about right-mounted lights...I had mine centered. Then I decided to make a bracket and mount it on the left, and I've been using that for a while now. I think I'll go back to the center, though. My LEDs have relatively narrow lenses, and I find that the light on the left doesn't reach enough of the curb area. Now, I live in an area where the curbs are tiny, so having some light to that side would be helpful...

Fantastic build! I particularly like the 13-30 cassette and corresponding nice silvery rear derailleur. What taillight is that, and do either your headlights or the taillight have a standlight? (is that why there's a superflash on the seatpost, too?)

On the occasion of viewing this nice build, I find that once again I am eager for my own frame. So, I must ask once more: is there any chance of getting an accounting of where we stand in the roster of backordered frames?

In response to an initial inquiry, I learned that my deposit was received and I had made it onto the list, but having not heard anything since, I have just been wondering...

The headlights do not have a standlight. I use a small helmet light for that, when needed. The taillight is a B&M Seculite Plus, which does have a standlight. the taillight is wired in parallel with the headlights, all driven off the Schmidt hub.

I got the internal wiring option on the frame, so there's very little taillight wiring visible.

The Superflash is there primarily for backup and for solo riding. I prefer not to run it in a group at night because it's really brighter than needed for brevets at night and tends to blind trailing riders. I may replace it something less bright.

The flashlights are mounted using Adel clamps. These are used extensively in aviation for securing wiring bundles. They're aluminum with a neoprene cushion. the cushion is easily removable, if desired. They're available in many sizes from various aircraft supply retailers for $1-2 each, depending on size. Google "adel clamp" and you should find online sources.

One caution: Although these are great general purpose clamps, I have had frame paint stained by the neoprene. If you use them to clamp around a frame, or any painted surface, I recommend putting a strip of innertube between the clamp and paint.